Urban exploration

An urban explorer stands near the outfall of a muffin shaped brick and concrete storm drain, under Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Urban exploration, urbex or UE, is the examination of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of human civilization. Urban exploration is also commonly referred to as infiltration, although some people consider infiltration to be more closely associated with the exploration of active or inhabited sites. In the USA, it may also be referred to as "draining" (when exploring drains) "urban spelunking", and "urban caving."

Targets of exploration

Urban explorers do any or all of these things, but often specialize in one or two.

Abandonments

Ventures into abandoned structures are perhaps the most common example of UE. Abandoned sites are generally entered first by locals, and often sport large amounts of graffiti and other vandalism. Explorers face various risks in abandoned structures including collapsing roofs and floors, broken glass, guard dogs, the presence of chemicals, other harmful substances, most notably, asbestos, and sometimes motion detectors. Some explorers wear respirators to protect airways.

Exploration targets vary from one country to another, but some of the more popular or high-profile abandonments include grain elevators, missile silos, hospitals, lunatic asylums, and sanatoriums.

Most, if not all explorers of abandonments find the decay of inhabited spaces to be beautiful; many of these explorers are also photographers. Some abandonments are heavily guarded with motion sensors and active security. Others are more easily accessible and carry less risk of discovery. Abandonments are also popular among history buffs, 'urban archaeologists,' 'ghosthunters' and fans of graffiti art.

Active buildings

Another aspect of urban exploration is the practice of exploring active or in use buildings. This includes seeing secured or "member-only" areas, mechanical rooms, roofs, elevator rooms, and other normally unseen parts of such buildings. The term 'infilitration' is often associated with the exploration of active structures.

Catacombs

Catacombs such as those found in Paris, Rome and Naples are targets for many urban explorers. The catacombs under Paris, for instance, have been considered the 'Holy Grail' by some due to their extensive nature.

Sewers and storm drains

Entry into storm drains, or draining, is another common form of UE. Groups devoted to the task have arisen, such as the Cave Clan in Australia. Draining has a specialized set of guidelines, the foremost of which is "When it rains, no drains."

A small subset of explorers enter sanitary sewers. Sometimes they are the only connection to caves or other subterranean feature. Sewers are among the most dangerous locations to explore.

Transit tunnels

The subset of urban exploration deals with exploring active and abandoned subway and underground railway tunnels and bores. Since these are in major cities, they carry stiff penalties if one should be caught while trespassing in these, especially after the September 11, 2001 terriorist attacks. As a result, this type of exploration is rarely publicised. Although they exist worldwide, those who partake in this often reside near New York City, Toronto, London, and Moscow, along with many other major cities throughout the world.

Utility tunnels

Universities and other large institutions, such as hospitals, often distribute steam for heating buildings from a central heating plant. These steam ducts are generally run through utility tunnels, which are often accessible solely for the purposes of maintenance. Many of these steam tunnels, such as those on college campuses, often also have a tradition of exploration by students. This was once called vadding at MIT, though students there now refer to it as roof and tunnel hacking.

Steam tunnels in general have been getting more secure in recent years, due to their use for carrying network backbones and perceived risk of their use in terrorist activities, safety and liability.

Some steam tunnels have dirt floors, no lighting and can have temperatures upwards of 115 degrees Fahrenheit ( 46° C ). Others have concrete floors, bright light, and can even be quite nice and feature a cool temperature. Most steam tunnels have large intake fans to bring in fresh air, and push all of the hot air out the back.

Ethics

Most urban explorers understand the risks that they face if caught while trespassing or breaking and entering. The crime is generally seen as a means to an end, however, rather than being the focal point of the hobby. There are some urban explorers that tend to stick to a basic set of "ethical practices" out of respect for the locations that they visit, as well as for any other explorers who may want to visit later. The hobby, however, is still ultimately an unstructured one, and there are rarely two explorers who share the same views on ethics. As such, there many exceptions to these "practices".

To some, the idea behind these "ethical practices" is to leave buildings in the same state that they were in before they were visited. The common, but not always entirely accurate catchphrase for this ethical standpoint is the Sierra Club's motto: "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints." Some try and adhere to this motto which frowns heavily upon theft, vandalism, tagging, graffiti, and any other crime except for trespassing.

For others, graffiti in drains is sometimes condoned or encouraged as long as speleothems and other features aren't damaged. Drainers may use it to indicate how far down the drain a given explorer has been.

An example of another counterpoint against the standard "ethical practices," some explorers remove items from abandoned sites to preserve them or to keep as souvenirs. More often than not, these explorers save these items from further decay or destruction when a location has become a target of vandalism or is being demolished.

Some locations contain a small area reserved for leaving tags, known as a guest book. These vary from actual books to blackboards to pieces of scrap metal or wood, or even the dust on an old piece of machinery. Rarely, employee guestbooks will be found, made before the business in question closed.

As with these cases of ethic principles, it is primairly up to the individual to make their own decision based on their viewpoints and their current situations.

Popularity

The rise in the popularity of urban exploration can be attributed to its increased media attention. Recent television shows, such as "Urban Explorers" on the Discovery Channel, MTV's Fear, and the The Atlantic Paranormal Society have mentioned or featured the hobby as a whole as one; interviews, such as on "New Morning" on the Hallmark Channel pose a different view . Talks and exhibits on urban exploration have appeared at the 5th and 6th Hackers on Planet Earth Conference, complementing numerous newspaper articles and interviews. With the advent rise in the relative popularity of the hobby due to this increased focus, there has been increasing discussion on whether the extra attention has been benefical to urban exploration as a whole.

The growing popularity of the activity has resulted not just in increased scrutiny from explorers, but also from vandals and law enforcement. The illicit aspects of urban exploring, which may include trespassing and breaking and entering, have brought along with them scathing articles in mainstream newspapers. In one recent article , web-postings and photographs from the web-site Urban Exploration Resource were cited as evidence that there were trespassers who were gaining access into an closed prison in northern Virginia. Posting specific details on entry points and how "easy" it was to gain entry to the disused facility , there was much discussion regarding the media coverage and the presence of urban exploration on the Internet.

To that regard, some explorers have become leery in posting information and photographs on exploration-oriented web-sites in fear of being prosecuted for trespassing. Two popular web-sites, Urban Exploration Resource and Deggi5, have been locked in argument about the structure of urban exploration web-sites. Both take opposing viewpoints, with the former having a very open-ended forum and database of abandonments and active "inflitrations", while the latter is a closed-membership forum open to only those that the moderators know personally. UER takes the stance that vandalism, theft, and tagging are not acceptable. The founder of Deggi5 has been found to have taken several items from an eastern asylum and sold the items on E-Bay for considerable profit. Several arguments center around on whether online listings of explorable structures undermine the once "underground" aspect of urban exploration.

Along with the rise in the popularity of urban exploring, numerous events have been hosted throughout the world. These organized meetings have included campouts, barbeques, day-long explorations, and tours of active and abandoned sites. While most of these are illegal in the sense that they involve trespassing or breaking and entering, a handful of meets, such as a recent event held at the West Virginia State Penitentiary, involve tours or lock-ins. Others include quasi-urban exploring gatherings, as evidenced by a meet held by "Shiroi" in which vandalism was performed in an abandoned structure. This has attracted both negative and positive attention based upon the ethics that that particular explorer holds .

In the media

Books

Many urban exploration books are available, including:

• Ninjalicious (2005). Access All Areas: A user's guide to the art of urban exploration. PO Box 13, Station E, Toronto, ON M6H 4E1 Canada: Infilpress. ISBN 0973778709
• Wand, Eku and Arnold, Dietmar (2000). Berlin im Untergrund: Potsdamer Platz. Eku interactive e.K., Berlin, Germany. ISBN 3935709021
• Deyo, L.B. and Leibowitz, David "Lefty". Invisible Frontier: Exploring the tunnels, ruins & rooftops of hidden New York. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 609809318
• Solis, Julia. New York Underground: The Anatomy of a City. Routledge. ISBN 0415950139

The following two photography books by Chilean-born, New York–based photographer and documentarian Camilo José Vergara are not explicitly about urban exploration, but Mr. Vergara uses many of the same techniques as urban explorers to gain access to the abandoned buildings which he photographs to document their decay.

• Camilo José Vergara. "American Ruins". Monacelli. ISBN 1580930565
• Camilo José Vergara. "The New American Ghetto". Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0813523311

Magazines

• 5100: A Canadian Urban Exploration magazine focusing mainly on Western Canada.
• The Cave Clan Magazine: Australian draining magazine.
• Jinx: United States urban exploration magazine.

Movies

• Pray for Rain's "After...", (2006) a supernatural thriller about three urban explorers who get more than they bargain for when they set out to explore the secret world beneath Moscow.

• Red Scream Films' "Prison of the Psychotic Damned", (2006) the world's first exploitation style UE film.

• Brad Anderson's "Session 9" (2001) is a movie about an asbestos cleaning crew working in an abandoned mental hospital. Tensions rise as the horrific past of the mental institution seems to be coming back.

• Phillip Booth's "Death Tunnel" (2005). Set in Waverly Hills TB Sanitarium in Louisville, Kentucky, five college women were locked in the hospital for an initiation stunt. Deep under the hospital is the infamous 'Death Tunnel' which was once used to remove the dead from the grounds of the hospital.

Short Films and Documentaries

• David L. Cunningham's documentary short, which documents a research trip he and screenwriter Kevin Miller made in preparation for writing "After...", a supernatural UE thriller about three urban explorers who get more than what they bargain for when they set out to explore the vast secret world under Moscow.

• Melody Gilbert's "Urban Explorers: Into the Darkness" (2006), a documentary about some of the world's urban explorers.

Television

• A 2004 episode of CSI (Down the Drain) involved a person supposedly killed while 'draining'.
• A 2006 episode of Law & Order involved urban exploration.
• The Discovery Channel filmed and aired a 5-episode TV series with the title "Urban Explorers". The 5 episodes are Buffalo, Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh. Discovery does not sell these episodes, and does not intend to.
• A 2006 episode of CSI:Miami (Free Fall) involved 2 Urban Explorers taking artifacts from an abandoned hotel.

See also

• Caving
• Cave Clan
• Catacombs of Paris
• C.H.U.D.
• Freedom Tunnel
• Parkour
• Reality hacker
• The Tunnel Rats

Further reading

• 28 Days Later Forum
• Abandoned
• Dark Places
• Infiltration Zine
• Urban Adventure
• Urban exploration & draining web-ring
• Urban Exploration Resource
• Urban Exploration
• Urban Explorers
• Urbex Forum